It's pretty much obligatory to make stuffed zucchini a few times each year if you have lots of zucchini that have gotten a bit too large and you need to figure out ways to use them. This propensity for zucchini to become overly large is why people joke about zucchini during the summer. This year one of the best producing zucchini plants in my garden is the little eight-ball zucchini, so called because you should be harvesting them when they're just slightly bigger than a billiards ball. Unfortunately, I kept getting distracted and a few of mine maybe should be called bowling ball zucchini. Luckily, recipes abound for using raw zucchini, fried zucchini, savory zucchini dishes, and sweet zucchini dishes.

You may think I've stuffed my zucchini the wrong way! I actually made stuffed eight ball zucchini one other time this year, and I found myself feeling annoyed that it was so hard to scrape out the insides, and when I was eating it I wanted a bit more stuffing in proportion to zucchini. So this time I decided to cut the zucchini lengthwise so each piece was a half-circle shape, and the opening was much bigger to put the stuffing in. I loved the way the recipe turned out when the zucchini were stuffed that way, and really liked this recipe with the zucchini stuffing flavored with fresh basil and Parmesan and the nutty flavor of the brown rice. Here are step-by-step photos of how I made my stuffed zucchini, with a few suggested variations from me plus lots of stuffed zucchini ideas from other bloggers after the recipe.

Trim as little as possible of the stem and flower ends off, and cut it off evenly because it will show when the zucchini is sliced through. My zucchini were about the size of an orange.

Then cut zucchini lengthwise, taking care to make the pieces the same size. If they roll around too much, you can cut a small bit off what is now the bottom side to make them sit up. (I had a pan where the zucchini fit tightly so I didn't need to do this.)

Using a pointed teaspoon or melon baller, carefully scrape out most of the inside flesh and seeds, leaving an even 1/2 inch of flesh attached to the skin. Microwave these shells 3-4 minutes on high.

Saute red peppers and onions in olive oil, then remove from pan and saute ground beef until it's well browned.

Preheat oven to 375 F. Cut stem and flower ends off zucchini, trimming off the smallest possible amount of the skin and taking care to cut it off evenly, since this will show. Cut zucchini in half lengthwise, then using a pointed teaspoon or melon baller, scoop out and discard most of the zucchini flesh and seeds, leaving an even 1/2 inch of flesh attached to the skin. If your zucchini are rolling around a lot, you can cut a thin slice on the bottom side of each to make them sit up. Microwave zucchini 3-4 minutes on high.

Heat olive oil in heavy frying pan and saute chopped onions and peppers until they are just starting to soften, about 5 minutes. (They will cook more in the oven, so they don't need to be fully cooked at this point.) Remove onions and peppers to large mixing bowl, then add ground beef to hot pan and cook until starting to brown. When meat is about half cooked, season with Spike Seasoning and ground fennel and add garlic, and continue to cook until meat is well browned, breaking it into small, pieces with the side of your turner. Remove cooked ground beef to mixing bowl.

Choose a roasting pan with slight sides, just big enough to hold the zucchini. Spray pan with nonstick spray or a light misting of olive oil. Stuff zucchini with stuffing mixture, packing in as much as you can into each zucchini, and mounding it up as high as you can, until all stuffing is used.

Put zucchini into roasting pan, putting them close together so they hold each other stuffing-side up. Roast uncovered 20-30 minutes, until zucchini is tender-crisp, and filling is hot and slightly browned. Serve hot.

This will keep well for a few days in the refrigerator and can be reheated in the microwave.

Variations:
Use turkey Italian Sausage instead of ground beef.
Use thin tomato sauce instead of the chicken stock.
Use sage or parsley instead of the basil. (I might use a bit less.)
Add some chopped olives to the stuffing.
Use sauteed mushrooms instead of or in addition to the red pepper.
Use feta cheese instead of the Parmesan.

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I always look for the smaller ones to stuff - use the big ones for bread or soup...Those little ones are darling! I'm going to plant some next year. And I love the stuffing; I'm a big fan of brown rice.

Kalyn - what a great step by step photo demonstration, thanks!!As for the recipe, it looks great...I can think of a million things I would want to do with the filling (one being "eat it straight out of the pan")!!

Hmmm... my sister has been dropping hints for the past few weeks about stuffed zucchini. She wants me to make this for her when I visit her in October (she does not cook by the way - though she does has a vague idea where the kitchen is but is not sure really what to do in it).

I think I will try this out then. I used to use another stuffing mix for zucchini (incidentally called baby marrow in South Africa) but this looks way better.

Thanks to all you zucchini lovers for stopping by. And how kind that no one has mentioned that I cut them the wrong way (on purpose, but I know some people are probably appalled.) Mrs. G, thanks, glad to hear you liked it.

Kalyn, this sound delicious. However, I have had trouble printing your recipes for the last few weeks. I have tried from two different computers. It only prints an advertisement. The rest of the page is blank. Do you have any suggestions? I don't want to miss out on any of your delicious creations! Thank you.

Anonymous, I have no idea what is causing that problem. When I got this e-mail, I immediately went to today's post and printed the recipe, no problem. I'm at school where they have Internet Explorer. I print recipes all the time at home too, where I use Firefox. I've never had any problems printing a recipe.

I wonder if it is something in your printer settings. Can you check to make sure that you're asking it to print the whole page. Let me know if you continue to have trouble.

Stuffing things is always fun. When I did stuffed zucchini I hollowed out the whole zucchini without slicing it in half. Slicing it in half first sounds like it would be much easier. This stuffed zucchini look good. I like the round zucchini.

Congratulations, and a well-deserved mention! You are one of the first places I go for no-nonsense recipes that are healthy and easy to replicate in the home kitchen. Nice to see recognition of such an "accessible" food blog!

I am the only person in the house who loves courgettes! I love to stir-fry them. I read a recipe on one of cuisine magazines here and they stuff the courgettes with corn kernels and shredded chickens! I've tried them and they are delicious!! I'll bookmark your recipe for next time I do the courgettes. Lovely.

I'm so happy you're taking the time to comment on Kalyn's Kitchen! I love hearing from people who stop by, especially if you're sharing feedback or asking questions about a recipe I've posted here.

I've recently changed my comment settings so people can comment without signing in, but you will need to check the box to show you're a live person, and comments on older posts won't show up until I publish them. Thanks for understanding!

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